Kiprusoff wins 300th after
tradeSharks fail to extend win streak to three
games

3/6/13 - By Mike Lee -

It's easy to say that weary legs let the Sharks
down on Wednesday night in Calgary, but in reality it had more to do with
little mistakes that had catastrophic consequences. Entering the 3rd period
tied 1-1, the Sharks gave up three goals to the Flames, putting an end to their
brief two-game winning streak. Former Shark netminder Miikka Kiprusoff made his
return to the Flames lineup after a month long stint on the injured reserve,
stopping 32 of 33 shots to lock up his 300th career victory in Calgary.

That 3rd period turned out to be 20 minutes of horror for San Jose.
The margin between victory and defeat came down to two miscues in less than two
minutes.

San Jose couldn't get the big stop from goaltender Thomas
Greiss, who surrendered a soft goal 2:57 into the period. Blake Comeau skated
up the right win and fired a shot that defenseman Matt Irwin tipped, lifting it
over Greiss' left shoulder.

Things went from bad to worse 1:39 later
when Ryane Clowe tried to hit Douglas Murray with a breakout pass in his own
zone. Expecting Murray to skate and handle the puck at the same time is a tall
order in open ice, but add a defender into the equation and expect the worst.
With Jiri Hudler draped all over him, Murray coughed up the puck as soon as it
hit his stick, only to be gobbled up by Jerome Iginla who took two strides to
his right and snapped a shot past Greiss for the 3-1 lead.

The power
play continues to fall short and in turn leaves the Sharks scrambling to make
up the absence of offense. San Jose let four man-advantage opportunities go by
the wayside.

Down by two goals, the Sharks pulled Griess for the extra
attacker after Comeau was called for interference with 2:31 left in the
contest. That turned out to be fruitless as Curtis Glenncross scored an
empty-net goal to cap the scoring.

San Jose fell behind 1-0 just 4:27
into the game when Roman Cervenka swept home a fat rebound after the Flames
bum-rushed the Sharks on a break that had all five players in red jerseys
attacking the net. Jay Bouwmeester put a shot off Greiss, and Cervenka was
Johnny on the spot, grabbing the rebound in the slot and sliding a shot around
Greiss' left pad.

San Jose went 10 minutes between shots in the 2nd
period, but when they finally did get a shot on net, it crossed the goal line.
The irony is the guy least likely to shoot on the team put a puck past Miikka
Kiprusoff. Sharks captain Joe Thornton scored his 5th goal of the season on his
first shot in three games, redirecting a Joe Pavelski feed from the right
corner past Kiprusoff.

The loss denied the Sharks the opportunity to
keep pace with the division leading Anaheim Ducks, who won for the 16th time
this season. San Jose trails Anaheim by 9 points in the standings.

SHARE THIS STORY:

What did you think of
this article? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums

What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums